I’m Cleaning Out My Cleaning Supplies!

posted by Andrea | 03/22/2011

If you’ve been following along for the past couple months, you know that I have experimented with a few different types of natural cleaning and beauty products. And since it’s official spring cleaning season, I thought it might be nice to compile all these posts into one location so you can see what I’ve been up to.

I’ve been really impressed with how well these natural, organic, and homemade products are working — SO impressed that I actually decided to get rid of most of my store-bought products!

These are the items I purged:

{I got almost everything for free, and I was able to donate all the unopened bottles to the thrift store.}

And THESE are the products I’m using now:

I know they are not ALL natural, organic, or homemade…but that’s not really my goal.

My goal is to use products I love, that I can get for a reasonable price, that help me to simplify my cleaning routine, and that I feel good about using. So all the above products fit my criteria for cleaning supplies.

Here’s a quick list:

I’ve included an Amazon.com link for many of the products, so if you’re interested, you can purchase them online…or in most grocery stores.

For dishes I use a spray bottle of 24oz of filtered water + 1tsb of Sal’s Suds to wash your dishes with. Give it a quick shake and you are good to go. Just spray your dishes or pour 1tsp in a sink full of hot water.

I use a baking soda/vinegar mix to clean the toilet. You just sprinkle in about a half cup of baking soda ( i make sure to sprinkle it all around the sides of the bowl, but some people just dump it straight in), then use your vinegar/water spray to spray down the inside of the toilet. Then just start scrubbing with the toilet brush! I haven’t found it any harder to get the toilet bowl sparkling clean than I did when I was using the nasty lysol or clorox cleaners.

Taletha

03/22/2011

For the toilet I use 1/4 cup baking soda and 1 cup vinegar. Pour them in the toilet basin and let sit for 15 min and then scrub and rinse.

For dish soap I use 2 cups of Castile soap, 1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar, and 1/2 cup of warm water. Pour all ingredients into a cleaned out old dish soap bottle and shake until well combined. Give it another good shake before each use. The lemon juice or vinegar helps cut through the grease on your dishes. I do keep a bottle of Seventh Generation dish soap on hand too for the really tough messes.

If the septic systems can handle the harsh chemicals in commercial cleaners, I doubt vinegar or baking soda would be a problem. I’ve used straight vinegar to clean toilets for years. I use baking soda and vinegar followed by very hot water to deodorize my kitchen sinks. I’ve never had a problem with it. Besides it would be become very diluted by the time it reached the septic system.

Andrea, I use Seventh Generation dish soap and dishwasher liquid. I can’t tell the difference at all. Cleans dishes very well.

What do you do with the safety pin? Also, Norwex has an AMAZING wimdow cloth.You need no other product except water. My windows have never been clearer and takes seconds to clean! MUST try they are AWESOME!!!

Michelle

10/07/2011

Have your site bookmarked and I’m still exploring it. Thought I’d share how I’ve used Fels Naptha as a pre-treat/stain remover for years. I put the entire bar of Fels Naptha in an old pitcher and cover it with 2 cups or so HOT water. This sits on my laundry shelf and the water turns into a thick slime. When I encounter a stain I “slime” it with Fels Naptha, scrub it in a little and toss it into the washer as usual. when you start to run low on slime, cover the lump with hot water again. Eventually you add another bar to the pitcher and keep doing it the same way. This slime has even removed greasy spots that ran through the dryer before I noticed it. Another tip I learned was to tie a loose knot in the stained garment when you take it off. When you find a “knot” of clothing on laundry day you automatically start looking for the stain to treat.

I’ve been slowly changing over our cleaning habits too. Using up what we currently had and then replacing it with homemade when it’s gone. I’ve made all purpose cleaner, window cleaner, dusting spray, and laundry detergent.

All Purpose Cleaner:

Make this in a large pail you can seal
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
5 drops tea tree oil (antibacterial)
Fill the rest with water.

Grate soap into a large sauce pan, cover with enough water to immerse all the soap, cook on medium heat stirring frequently until all the soap is melted.
Add to a pail of HOT HOT water, pour in 2 cups of baking soda and tea tree oil, mix well. You can add essential oils if you want like lavender but the tea tree oil works great, it also gives extra antiseptic power.
Use 1/2 cup per regular load, and 1 cup for heavily soiled load. It costs $1 for 64 loads. =]

Ashley

11/19/2011

I LOVE Mrs. Meyer’s. I caught the dish soap (normally 2.98) with a coupon for a dollar off around the neck. I could easily justify buying it then. The lemon verbena multi-purpose cleaner is awesome too!

stephanie

01/01/2012

Hey, been reading your site for a while now and have really enjoyed your many tips and tricks!
One thing I have heard for de-greasing, particularly ovens, is ash. Like, ash from your wood fireplace. Mix with water to form a paste, apply and let sit for a while and then just wipe away! I personally have not tried this yet, but my husband’s aunt (who lives next door to us) is the most natural (and inspirational) person I know! She uses up everything – literally nothing is wasted in her home!
Another product to try is Norwex (but I’m not sure if that’s Canadian or American or both). Their “magic erasers” work BETTER than Mr.Clean’s, but without all the harsh chemicals!
Thanks for all the info! And congrats on your baby girl!

I started using Seventh Generation toilet bowl cleaner, and I LOVE IT! (Never thought I could love cleaning products :)) In my opinion, it works a lot better than the “normal” toilet bowl cleaner, and it lasts a long time too! The only downside is it’s a little hard to find, but I found mine at Target, and I know that they sell it on Amazon

Amy S.

Candi May

02/24/2012

I simply use a few pumps of my antibacterial hand soap off of my sink onto the toilet brush (of course I don’t touch the dispenser to the brush) and use that every day or two. By ‘swishing’ (as Flylady calls it) every day or so, I don’t have any nasty build up to clean. Stays sparklingly pristine! =)

Debbie

02/26/2012

Andrea, the best all natural toilet bowl cleaner I’ve found has been from Watkins…their Natural Home Care Lemon Toilet Bowl Cleaner. It’s cedar oil based and really shines the bowl and is non-toxic http://www.watkinsonline.com

I use methyl hydrate to degrease. I get it at the hardware store. It’s just really really strong alcohol. Cleans mirrors, stainless steel, a stove top, glass vases, even flat screens in seconds. It’s obviously drying to your skin, but it sterilizes, leaves no residue, and although I wouldn’t drink it, it not technically poisonous. Plus, it’s CHEAP!

Bobbi

04/04/2012

For the shower I have a bottle that is 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 dishsoap spray on and let stand for about 5 minutes very little scrubbing needs then the water just runs of of the shower walls for a while also use that on my glass top stove … Make my own window cleaner .. that I also use on the counters 1 cup rubbing alcohol 1 c water 1 tbs vinegar 1 drop dish detergent and you can put corn starch in there for a extra shine… Make my own laundry detergent and fabric softner I use the foil in the dryer for the static…
I have gotten to the point that I do not want to spend the extra money on all the cleaners… and if I have everything in the house I just make my own stuff I also take old towels and then take a old puff and make my own scrub pads … I just sew the puff to the old towels in the sizes i need.. I use vineager in the dishwaher as a rinse agent and make my own soap for that also.. The toilet one is a mystery to me we have extremely hard water here and everything I have tried so far hasn’t worked that well..

[…] at Simple Organized Living shared her favorite natural cleaners a few weeks ago as well, and her list also includes drain cleaner, face wash and […]

Ainsley

07/10/2012

I know this post is a bit old, but I thought I’d pass on that you can buy melamine foam on Amazon for a fraction of the price than you’d pay for Magic Erasers. Exact same thing, just without the branding!

Take a chunk of a magic eraser leave in the toilet overnight then flush. Also you can put a container of vinegar in the tank. It helps clean daily and help cut down in the cost it takes to feel up your tank
Read this stuff on the internet somewhere

Emily

02/06/2013

I grew up using Castile Soap. My mom taught me how to clean the house at a young age. She had me use Castile Soap and baking soda for the bath tub, toilet, and sink. You can also use Castile Soap for laundry with 1/4cup per load or 1/3cup based on the hardness of your water and adding baking soda makes it even better. There are even more ways to use Castile Soap just google.

Crista

02/20/2013

I love the look of your simplified cleaning cabinet! Did you find a substitute for Febreeze/Lysol for odors? I’m thinking about the diaper pail or garbage that sometimes just needs a quick”freshening” up.

Susan

01/02/2014

I clean my house kitchen and bathroom with bleach and water i use white vinager for my tile floors and ammonia and water for my windows and glass the only thing i buy is fabreeze and wood cleaner. In which i want to look up home made ways for that..